1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to snow boards and snow skis, and more particularly to a tip protection apparatus for the ends of the snow boards or skis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern snow skis and snow boards are typically made of laminations of different layers of materials to provide the desired performance characteristics. These layers may include metal, wood, plastic, fiberglass, and/or graphite materials bonded together to form a single ski or snow board structure. Often, when a rider hits a rock or a tree with the board or ski, the tip is the first thing that gets damaged. On a snow board, the potential for damage is double as there are two tips on the board. Both tips of the board are generally narrower in thickness and prone to being the impact points with rocks and trees. When the board tips are hit, the tip bends and the thin top lamination tends to begin to delaminate or peel up.
One solution to this problem is to provide a removable rubber bumper or "nose guards" that are adhesively fastened to the board and fit over the snow board tips to prevent such damage to the actual laminated tips. These nose guards are elongated sleeves with a channel therein to receive the edge of the board and the guard sleeve extends around the tip of the snow board. However, these bumpers add to the bulk of the board tip and can adversely affect performance during various trick maneuvers with the board.
Accordingly, there is a need for a ski and snow board tip protector that reduces the potential for tip delaminations without reducing board performance and without substantially changing the board tip profile.